Late Fee
by Komett
Summary: When college student Shizuru picks up part-time nightshift work at a movie rental store, she becomes intrigued by the mysterious girl who barely speaks and only rents out horror movies. AU ShizNat, Multi-chaptered. Possibly change to M later.
1. Welcome To Legend!

DISCLAIMER: I do solemnly swear that I make no profit from the writing of this story, as all legal rights to Mai HiME belong to Sunrise. Me promises.

A/N: This an AU ShizNat fic, going to be relatively harmless until we start getting to Natsuki and her background a little better. And, if you guys seem to like this story, I was thinking of trying to write a lemon into a later chapter. They are easy to read, but so hard to write for some reason!

* * *

Chapter One – Welcome To Legend!

* * *

"… Hai. Hai. Okay, 6:30 sounds fine. Alright then, I'll see you there, and ookini very much for this, Yukariko-san! Ja'!"

Shizuru cheerfully spoke to into her mobile phone before ending the call, her bubbly persona vanishing as soon as the handset was flipped shut. Releasing a sigh, she closed her laptop shut and leaned back in the chair, rubbing her temples.

Her first shift for the new job she had managed to pick up began at 6:30.

_Just great, _she thought dismally to herself. _I'm up to my ears in assignments, and now I've got to drop everything and start work…_

Truth be told, Fujino Shizuru didn't want to pick up a casual job at a nearby movie rental store. She was content enough to drift by as a college student, with scores of loyal fans to hang out with, and all the weekend shopping in the world.

Unfortunately, it was only when her savings account started to slowly dwindle down and not replenish itself that prompted her into action and forced her to look around for part-time work.

For the majority of her childhood and teenage years, her well-to-do family had placed a lump sum of money into her account every month whilst she was away at boarding school. When she began college, however, her father and pulled her aside and explained to her about the importance of independence and learning to stand on her own feet as a grown woman.

Shizuru had smiled and nodded, assuring her father that she had understood what he was saying, but she couldn't help the feelings of disappointment and bitterness sometime after when she tried to purchase a new phone and found that her card had insufficient funds on it. It was one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to her, next to the incident that occurred when she was in her first year of highschool.

Shizuru winced slightly whenever she recalled this particular memory, the feelings of embarrassment and shame still affecting her as if the event was fresh.

It was the day when Shizuru's school back in Kyoto – An all-girls Catholic Academy – rang her parents and told them how she had been caught by teachers making out with another student in the gym hall.

She remembered that day quite vividly; Her parents stonily sat and listened to the teachers talk about how they had walked into the locker room and found her and older student, Anh, in a lip-lock against the back wall.

She remembered the silent drive home. And even now, though Shizuru is already a College student, they have yet to speak about that occasion.

She knew that her parents were happier pretending to be oblivious about her sexuality, quicker to erase all evidence from their minds than to admit that their beautiful daughter – who was going to marry a nice, wealthy man and bear them plenty of grandchildren – was in fact a lesbian.

That was one of the main reasons why Shizuru had never dated anyone since then, in part for being unwilling to cause her parents distress, and in part for herself. Yes; popular, friendly college student Fujino Shizuru was still a dedicated believer in true love.

Although she had crowds of admirers, male and female, the tawny-haired libertine refused to settle for anyone less than her soulmate. Not counting the first year snog, of course. THAT was just teenage experimentation, she assured herself.

Caught up in her memories of the past, Shizuru absently rolled her head to the side and glanced at the clock. 6pm.

"_Kuso!"_

* * *

A quick shower and make-up prep later, Shizuru was sitting behind the wheel of her car as she turned into the parking lot for LEGEND MOVIES, the rental store she had managed to grab a few night shifts a week in.

When she had first learnt that she passed the interview, she negotiated with the manager Yakariko Sanada that she would start on Friday night. However, as soon as she had settled down in front of her laptop this afternoon ready to tackle a history paper, her clunky black phone started to ring in her pocket.

It turned out that Yukariko had to take care of her flu-ridden daughter that night, and needed Shizuru to cover the night shift even though it was Wednesday. Shizuru couldn't complain though – even though her parents were covering her tuition fees, she liked to have a bit of money with her at all times for emergency car repairs or shopping splurges.

As she neared the store entrance, Shizuru glanced down at what was practcally a brick in her eyes She scowled at the small device.

"At least I'll be able to finally get my new phone and get rid of you" she muttered to the inanimate object as she walked through the door of the shop.

A young blue-eyed boy standing at the counter, wearing the same red polo shirt as Shizuru with "Legend" emblazoned on the front breast pocket, glanced up from his place at the counter and smiled warmly at her.

"Ah, you must be the new girl!" He grinned, walking around from behind the counter to shake her hand. Shizuru smiled back, looking around the place as she did so.

"Hai, that's right. My name is Shizuru, Yukariko-san told me to cover for her tonight."

The boy laughed.

"Yeah, her two-year old has a nasty virus at the moment. My name is Kazuya, by the way."

Shizuru glanced back at him and smiled quickly in acknowledgement, before turning her gaze back to the inside of the room.

Rows of shelves filled the entire store, each aisle clearly labeled in order of genre. Shizuru couldn't help but giggle inwardly when she saw the shady back-corner shelf labeled "Special Interest." Even though she was 18 years old, she still retained her inner immature persona.

Kazuya's deep voice broke her thoughts.

"If you come this way, Shizuru-san, I can show you how to scan the return dvds back into the system, then teach you how to organize them into categories."

Shizuru watched him walk back behind the counter and began to follow him, albeit a little hesitantly. He noticed this.

"Ah, Shizuru-san, don't be afraid of stepping behind the counter. What kind of employee would you be if you stayed at the front of the store all night?"

Shizuru laughed along with him before walking out the back to stand next to him.

"Ara, I suppose you are right, Kazuya-han. It just feels a bit strange, is all. This is my first ever job."

Within the next ten minutes, Shizuru was wiping discs and re-stocking shelves, laughing with Kazuya the entire time. After all, she was never known for being the shy type when it came to meeting other people. And besides, Kazuya seemed like a genuinely nice guy as he talked all about his school, his girlfriend and cracked the occasional joke.

"Yeah, I know Akane-chan always told me to make sure I brought a set of fresh clothes to change into, but who would've guessed that I would forget them on the one day our canoe tipped over during P.E!"

Shizuru giggled some more as she walked over to the horror section, straightening the dvds on the shelf a bit as she saw that they had become disordered. Ah, she felt like she had been working here for years already, and it was only 8pm!

Kazuya explained to her that the store closes at 9pm each night, and since she is a trainee there will always be someone there with her to lock up the shop and count the till after closing time. Shizuru was actually looking forward to meeting some of the other employees, from what Kazuya had let slip, they sounded like a pretty crazy bunch of girls.

By Eight thirty, Shizuru was confident enough to serve at the counter without Kazuya there to guide her through the transaction system on the computer. She learned pretty quickly to keep a straight face as she scanned through porno dvds, smiling politely at the old men as she took their money and handed them back their "Girls Gone Wild!" dvd specials.

She was just as quick to learn the location of the hand sanitizer lotion Yukariko-san kept in the top drawer, and would thoroughly pour it all over her palms as soon as the customer walked out the door.

_Can never be too safe, she reasoned with herself as she shuddered._

Towards the end of night, as most of the customers had left and Kazuya and her had started cleaning up, she was more than ready to head home and get a good night's sleep.

_So much for my history paper, she sighed._

Ah well, she really did need the money, and it was only three night shifts a week anyway.

Although the job itself seemed a little bit boring and mundane, Shizuru had to admit that she had fun talking to Kazuya all night, telling stories to each other and laughing at the stupidest movie titles they came across (Shizuru's discovery of "Revenge of the Son of the Alien from The Sun" was the winner so far).

All in all, Shizuru thought that a couple of boring, draining hours a week was a fair enough exchange for make-up and shoes money, so she wasn't too bothered to be wiping a wet cloth over the counter as she was now. She is an extremely feminine girl, after all.

Soon enough, it was 8:50 and all the customers had left. Or so she thought.

As she scrubbed at a particularly tough coffee stain on the front counter, a shadow suddenly fell over the desk surface. Glancing up, Shizuru was about to greet the customer in her normal cheery way when the words suddenly died in her throat.

A pair of intense jade eyes stared back into hers, looking mildly annoyed that her sales attendant had been too busy cleaning to notice her arrival at the counter.

Shizuru's eyes took in her form in a split-second.

Long, ebony black hair fell over her shoulders, framing a petite face and providing a stunning contrast to the pale colouring of her skin. And oh, those eyes.

Blinking, Shizuru recovered quickly from her momentary lapse in concentration and flashed a bright smile at the girl.

"Ara, good evening and welcome to Legend Movies. Are they all you want for tonight?" she asked as politely as she could (which was VERY polite, being a Fujino and all), gesturing towards the small stack of movies in the girl's arms.

The mystery girl scowled at her.

"Why would I bring these up here and stand at the counter if I wanted more?" she asked bluntly, one slender black eyebrow rising.

Shizuru, while inwardly shocked at the girl's unprovoked hostile behaviour, merely smiled serenely and tilted her head to the side.

"Why, for all I know you could be coming over here just to chat me up, using those movies as an excuse for approaching me!" she beamed brightly.

The girl looked taken aback.

"W-what the hell are you on about?! Why the hell would you… argh… nevermind.." she growled, seemingly disappointed at her stuttering reaction to Shizuru's jest.

Dropping her movies onto the counter, the girl stepped back as Shizuru scanned them in one by one and put them to one side.

_Murder movie… Murder movie… Murder mystery movie…_

Shizuru silently recounted to herself in her head as she placed each movie down.

_What is this girl, a serial killer?_

After typing a bit on the keyboard, Shizuru's crimson eyes darted to meet those bewitching green ones again, her throat going slightly dry as she opened her mouth to ask a question.

"Could I please get your surname, ma'am?"

"Kuga."

Some more typing, then a pause.

"And your password is…?"

"Duran."

Shizuru smiled as the password matched with what was displayed on screen.

As she was waiting for the system to process the transaction, Shizuru tapped her fingers on the countertop and looked over to the girl.

"So, how was your day?"

The girl merely continued to look at the posters on the wall behind Shizuru, unflinching and not saying a word. Why was she ignoring her? Shizuru suddenly felt stupid and embarrassed that she was being ignored so blatantly.

After taking the payment and handing over the dvds, a slightly uncomfortable Shizuru couldn't help but take one last stab at the eerily silent girl.

"Have a good night, Kuga-han, and please don't be too shy to come and visit me again!" she smiled, adding a flirty wink. The girl made no acknowledgement whatsoever that Shizuru even spoke as she quickly snatched up her dvds and marched towards the front doors.

Shizuru didn't miss the faint glow on the girl's cheeks as she left, however.

Shizuru's eyes followed the slender form until she was out of the store. Kazuya walked up to her and started shuffling papers about, standing beside Shizuru.

"Don't worry about her, Shizuru-san, that's Kuga-san. She comes in here every night and acts like that, she's just weird. Relatively harmless, but weird."

Shizuru pulled her eyes away from the door the girl had just walked out of and faced her co-worker.

"Ara, does she always get those gory serial killer movies?"

Kazuya nodded, gathering up the pens and papers scattered over the counter as he answered her.

"Yeah, she only ever hires out crime movies. None of us know why, she just shows up every night before closing and gets them out. She never talks to us, so we don't know anything about her even though she is a regular customer."

Shizuru gave a small murmur of acknowledgement, but really her mind was far away.

_Kuga, huh? What an interestingly strange child…_

Shizuru suddenly had the feeling that her shifts during the following weeks weren't going to be too bad after all.

* * *

A/N: Whew, trying to write using American terms was hard! I was so tempted to be writing University instead of College, and Year 10 instead of First Year, hehehe.

(I think other terms are like, 10th grade and sophomore, but I don't even know what a sophomore is) oO

And I just couldn't bring myself to write Cellphone, so I just called it "Phone." Hey, over here we just call it a Mobile, hahaha.

Anyway, Please leave a comment or a suggestion!


	2. Why Do You Do That?

DISCLAIMER: I do solemly swear that I am up to no good. Er, I mean, that I do not own Mai HiME :)

A/N: I felt like writing again, thanks to my little chats with brokenxsky and rain141 about anime. You guys struck me with write-urge, thanks a LOT! XD (aww you guys rock)

And to the people who reviewed and laughed at my lack of understanding when it comes to the American language - forgive me for trying to write like you! I think it'd confuse the mostly American/British readers if I started using Aussie sentences like "Shizuru and Haruka stood in the Uni dunnies, as the Kyoto-born re-applied her face paint before she decided she was decent enough to start work at the movie joint that night". XD

Thank you sincerely to all my reviewers, I love the fact that you'd take time to leave feedback on my story. Don't be scared to voice anything that you don't like about my writing style - I can only improve if I know what is wrong to begin with!

* * *

Chapter Two - Why Do You Do That?!

* * *

"Fujino, are you even listening to me?!"

Suzushiro Haruka fumed, turning around mid-rant to glare at her college colleague who was frantically tugging on a red polo shirt. There was no one else in the girl's public bathroom, so Shizuru took the chance to quickly change into her Legend uniform so she could leave straight from campus.

"Hai, Suzushiro-han, I am indeed listening to your…eh, _exciting_ political opinions, but I _really _must finish getting ready quickly or I am going to be late for the 4:30 shift!"

Haruka sighed, crossing her arms and leaning back against the large mirror.

"Fujino, you've been working at that place for just one week already and so far you have missed three after-class study sessions from it! Don't you think that your education is suffering because of this ridiculous "casual work"?"

Shizuru chuckled as she straightened her shirt and checked her hair in the mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced through the mirror over at her irritable blonde friend.

"Actually Suzushiro-han, I really enjoy what I do there. I know we both come from honourable families, but I am surprisingly quite glad my father made me get a part-time job. You really should try it one day".

Haruka just scoffed and absently examined her perfectly-manicured nails, thoughts racing through her mind of flipping burgers at some fast food restaurant.

"As if, Fujino…"

Shizuru smiled politely and backed away from the mirror, satisfied with the loose bun her hair was pulled into, allowing twin tawny locks to neatly frame her face. Quickly snapping shut her compact lipgloss container, the Fujino heiress tossed all of her items into her college book bag which was promptly slung over her shoulder as she walked out of the student bathroom.

"Ja'ne, Suzushiro-san. See you at class tomorrow!". A casual hand was waved in the air without her turning around.

Haruka rolled her purple-painted eyes.

* * *

Climbing out of her stylish little sports car, Shizuru glanced at her watch.

_4:27…. Perfect._

Striding casually into the building, she was immediately greeted by the refreshing blast of the air-con, blowing towards her the slight scent of musk overpowered by the smell of the carpet powder used at the end of the night when the floor had to be vaccumed. Making her way to the counter, Shizuru occasionally reached out and straightened some dvds on a nearby shelf or bent down to pick up a scrap of paper from the floor.

"Ara… do these people not give a second thought to the poor souls who have to clean this place before they litter all over the floor…?…."

Her mind drifted back her past experiences at the store. True to Kazuya's words, every night since she had started working at Legend she had seen Kuga come into the shop just before it was closing time.

And in the three times she has interacted with the girl since then, she could ruefully admit to herself that it was just _so difficult _trying to get the girl to talk more to them, even if she had persisted to gently chip away at the girl's cold exterior.

* * *

_**Friday Night**_

"_Ara, Kuga-san, you are back. Perhaps you __**were**__ trying to woo me the other night after all! Kyaaa… such a romantic…"_

_Natsuki glared at her. She didn't say a word._

_**Monday Night**_

"_Back again, Kuga-san? Am I just so irrestible, hmm?"_

_Natsuki rolled her eyes._

"_Idiot…" she mumbled under her breath._

_**Wednesday Night**_

"_Ara, ara Natsuki. How come you only rent out these gory flicks? Why don't you try a nice romance film for once...? Maybe it would give you more ideas at how to approach a cute girl, rather than continuously using movies as your excuse ~ !"_

_Natsuki double blinked. Then she turned her head and proceeded to ignore the kyoto-born until the transaction was over, before she stomped rather comically out the door. _

_Shizuru giggled._

_

* * *

_

... And this brings us to the present.

Shizuru impatiently glanced at the clock, feeling as though the minute hand was ridiculing her as it took it's merry time completing it's circuit, bringing itself closer to the end of the night.

_8:45... nearly her cue._

Deciding it was best to keep herself busy rather stand around anxiously awaiting the arrival of her current obsession, Shizuru turned away from the clock for the fifth time in the past two minutes.

"Midori-han?" she enquired, her soft voice drifting over to the older redhead standing in front of the popcorn machine.

A pair of lime green eyes snapped up and a lazy grin spread upon her co-worker's face.

_Click. _Shizuru's mind took a mental snapshot of the pose. Midori-han looked like a superhero in their prime scene right at that moment.

"What's up, Fujino?"

It was curious, Shizuru thought, that even though she had only met Midori earlier that night, the "17 year old university student who loves the night life!" was so carefree that Shizuru couldn't help but relax around her.

In fact, every one that she had worked with so far had been remarkably easy to get along with. First there was Kazuya. Then she worked with the flirtatious Chie-han; the boyish girl who spent half the night showing Shizuru pictures of her girlfriend on her phone, and reiterating that Aoi-chan was the "hottest thing this side of Fuka".

Monday night introduced her to yet another boyish co-woker - _Are there no cute feminine girls around here?! _Shizuru's mind screamed - Akira-han. In fact, it took a double-take on Shizuru's end to realise that the quiet girl was indeed female.

Wednesday night was a relief; Tomoe-han was young, stuck-up and sexy. Exactly the kind of girl Shizuru was used to interacting with at school. Even though it took all of her willpower not to drop her smile at Tomoe's ramblings about the latest scandal at her parent's company office. Also, Shizuru could tell that Tomoe's eyes lingered on her the entire night, and so she made an effort to constantly lean forward on the counter when talking to the girl, or to bend over purposely to pick up a piece of paper from the floor.

So what if she stuck to her beliefs of not dating anyone less than her soulmate? She still found flirting to be a most fun pastime. And anyway, Tomoe was only 15 and Shizuru knew better than to seriously go further than just teasing the girl. Hopefully, Tomoe's obvious little crush would fade away after working a bit more with Shizuru and the kyoto-born wouldn't find herself in any awkward situations involving her, Tomoe, and explaining to Tomoe that she wasn't really interested.

And on this Friday night, was when Shizuru met the rogue-ish Midori and her exuberant personality. Shizuru found her endearing, in a way.

Shizuru smiled back at Midori's friendly grin.

"Midori-han, I was wondering if you could watch the counter for a few minutes, while I go and start tidying the shelves up a little..?"

A nonchalant wave of the hand.

"Sure, sure. I have a stack of comics to keep me entertained anyways - it's like the Dead Zone in here at this time of night.".

Shizuru giggled. She wanted to add,

"But Midori-han, We are not completely free of customers yet! Kuga-han will be arriving soon!"

but she chose not to say it aloud. Her mental voice made her sound like she had been waiting all night for Kuga to arrive, and that thought worried her. It was a foreign feeling for her to actually have so much interest in a complete stranger.

So, off she went to the back of the store, where she went about neatly ordering the DVDs that inconsiderate people had messily browsed through during the course of the night.

She couldn't help but linger when she got to the "Special Interest" shelf.

Her eyes amusingly skimmed the titles printed on the spines of the DVD covers.

_Babes in Bikinis... Hot Hostesses 4.... The sophistication of Paris: Menage a trois...._

Whilst she was inwardly chuckling lecherously, a rather irritated grumble that sounded from another section of the store startled her.

"Goddamnit... I have seen just about all of these already..."

Shizuru's sharp eyes locked onto her prey - A slim figure stood facing away from her; a dark long-sleeved sweater accompanied by tight-fitting jeans that hugged a shapely backside. A waterfall of midnight hair cascaded halfway down the back to stop just above the waist.

Red-ochre eyes sparkled with joy.

_Time to approach her._

Shizuru skillfuly and silently stalked her way over to the Horror section, watching as her irritated prey plucked DVDs from the shelf into her arms, and occasionally let out an adorable little growling noise every time something about a particular title displeased her.

"Oh for heaven's sake, WHERE on earth does this store keep the sequel to this movie?!"

BINGO! An excuse to intialise conversation! Shizuru sashayed towards Kuga, all to eager to offer her assistance as a helpful employee of the store.

The phrase "May I help you?" was right on the tip of her tongue just as Natsuki spun on her heel and walked smack bang into her.

_Oh. Not good._

The DVDs from Natsuki's arms fell into a scattered heap on the carpet. Shizuru rubbed her nose - unfortunately she was _just _as much taller than the other girl for forhead to collide with nose bridge.

After a split-second of regaining their bearings, both girls immediately dropped into a crouch in an effort to start picking up the dropped movies.

As luck would have it, they both reached out to the same movie first, and both paused when their hands touched.

Kuga looked up in suprise, that quickly turned into annoyance.

"You!"

Shizuru smiled.

"Me again. These chance meetings really are quite suspicious, wouldn't you say so, Kuga-han?"

And she began to collect up some of the dropped DVDs. Natsuki gaped at her.

"What chance meetings?! You work here, dammnit!"

Shizuru stood up, facing the girl who did likewise and handed over the stack of DVDs.

Natsuki opened her mouth as if to retort something else, but Shizuru effectively cut her off by reaching past her and plucking a DVD from the shelf.

"Here," she said, placing the movie atop the small stack already in Natsuki's arms,

"This is the sequel for Scream. You'll also find Scream 3 there as well, towards the left of the second row".

Not giving the strange girl a chance to reply, Shizuru swiftly made her way towards the front counter.

She realised that her heart was beating somewhere around her ears, and that her palms felt suspiciously warm.

_Ara, I wonder why a simple exchange of words felt so exhilarating... this girl has quite the odd effect on me._

She walked behind the counter and stood at her post near the system computer, playing with one of her bangs absent-mindedly as she dwelled on the events of the last 30 seconds.

Midori raised her eyes from the comic book she was reading, reclined on a chair with her feet propped on the back bench, and regarded her coolly.

"What went on over there? Someone drop something? I thought I heard a crash..."

Shizuru, broken from her reverie, looked up and smiled.

"Yes, Midori-han, the customer dropped some DVDs but I helped out. Everything is fine."

Midori continued to stare suspiciously at her for a few more seconds. Shizuru felt like the girl was staring right through her; the nervousness almost made her mask slip!

From behing her comic, Midori grinned slyly.

"So, are you going to go back to cleaning the shelves? I'll handle this last customer...-"

"No! I mean... no thank you, Midori-han. I'd rather serve at the front counter for now, I think. If it's not too much trouble, perhaps you could take over shelf duty for me...?

She ended her speech with a clasp of the hands and a beaming smile. Anyone could've sworn there were sparkles surrounding her for that second.

Midori, her suspicions pretty much proved correct, grinned rather smugly as she put down her comic book and made to stand up. She let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Well, whatever Fujino. If it means so much to you to be on counter duty for the last 4 minutes before closing time, then who am I to deny a fellow teenager her dearest wish?"

And with that, she slid aound the counter and made off to the back of the store.

Shizuru's heart skipped a beat as she heard footsteps approaching the counter from behind her.

She turned, and was met face-to-face with those _enchanting _eyes. She unconsciously swallowed.

Neither girl moved an inch. Everything was silent.

They both stared impassively, faces unreadable.

...Shizuru winked. Kuga exploded.

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO STUFF LIKE THAT?!"

She dropped the DVDs onto the counter, freeing her arms in order to wave them around in wild gestures as she continued,

"Every time I come in here and you're working, it's like you're always flirting with me. STOP HITTING ON ME!"

Shizuru remained amused through this little tirade, waiting for a few seconds as Kuga slammed her palms onto the counter and glared menacingly at her, expecting an answer.

"... Ara, but unless I am mistaken, it is Kuga-han who continues to use these DVDs as an excuse to approach me!"

Natsuki stared in utter disbelief at the employee who was at the moment smiling sweetly at her.

"But this.. this is a VIDEO STORE! You are the counter girl! OF COURSE I HAVE TO APPROACH YOU!"

Shizuru weighed her options as she stared at the fuming girl.

_Okay, time for another approach..._

She turned her head away from Kuga's livid expression and sighed mournfully.

"Oh, I see now. Kuga-han doesn't like me after all. In fact she hates me!"

Kuga was confused. She couldn't process this abrupt change in the other girl's mood. _Huh?_

Shizuru continued on before the girl could interject.

"In fact, she detests me so much, she felt the need to head-butt me in the nose, just because I was trying to help her find her movie!"

"W-WHAT?! That's not true! It was your faul-"

"Araa... well, I get the hint. My poor, aching nose is a big enough hint, if anything could be. From now on, Kuga-han, I shall refrain from speaking to you outside of the required conversation for the DVD hiring".

She finished her words with a glance upwards into Kuga's face. The dark-haired vixen appeared at a loss - it looked as though she was struggling with either to say "Yes! Don't talk to me ever again!" or "What the hell are you smoking, woman?!"

In the end, she settled for a steady exhale of breath and her momentary outrage dissolved back into her expressionless state as she straightened up and reached into her pocket to withdraw her wallet.

Shizuru inwardly flinched - that was not the reaction she wanted at all!

Realising that her cause was hopeless, Shizuru allowed the silence to fill the gap between them as she mundanely when through the motions of scanning each one of the DVDs. She inwardly sighed.

"Name, please?" she enquired softly, following the standard procedure even though she knew the answer she'd get.

"Kuga.... Natsuki."

Shizuru's eyes widened almost unnoticeably as she studied the profile of the girl who was looking towards the bac of the store, her emotionless aura never once faltering.

_Hm, first time she's actually said her first name..._

As she finished putting the last of the DVDs into their cases and standing them in a neat pile to the left side of the counter, Shizuru noticed the faintest of blushes adorning Kuga's cheeks as the girl hesistantly picked up her DVDs, looking as though she was debating with herself mentally over something.

Shizuru was beginning to wonder what the other girl's distress was - and why she was lingering around the counter - when the girl finally revealed the source of her hesitance to leave.

"Look, I'm sorry about your nose, alright?"

Shizuru blinked. The words were spoken gruffly, but she could definitely hear a trace of sincerity behind them. After a few seconds of stunned silence,

"... That's quite alright, Kuga-han. It was only an accident after all -"

"Natsuki... I told you. It's Natsuki..."

Shizuru was intrigued by the girl's sudden switch from impassiveness to shyness in 0.3 seconds flat.

_Perhaps she is really just shy all of the time...?_

Quickly becoming uncomfortable, the shorter girl coughed and nodded towards Shizuru.

"Seeya."

And with that, she was out the door before Shizuru could even blink twice.

Slowly allowing a smile to spread on her face as she looked towards the door, Shizuru reveled in the curious feeling of having just run a marathon - her heart was beating fast and her stomach was fluttering.

"Bye... Natsuki".

* * *

Omake-Thing: True Blue Aussie HiME

(In bathroom)

Haruka: Ey Shiz, what's up with ya mascara? It's runnin' all down your face, ya bloody idiot!

Shizuru: Aw, strewth!

* * *

Chapter 2, brought to you only 3 MONTHS after chapter 1 (Author is a busy girl )

And as a little spoiler-thing for next time:

Natsuki fails to show up for the next few nights, leaving overdue movies?! Good thing the ever-gracious Shizuru offers to drop by her apartment on her way home and stop in for a quick reminder!

... Heh. That's your spoiler, folks. Be sure to leave a bit of input, as I'm curious to know what you think of my little set-up going on there with the whole Tomoe being a co-worker and Midori catching onto Shizuru's little "Non-crush", hehehe.

Plus, I just like to hear what you guys generally think of my writing :)

~ Komett (a.k.a Komakode)


	3. I Did Not Agree To That!

DISCLAIMER: Nah, not mine.

A/N: I'm sooo sorry for the time it took to update this, one time I did get a chance to sit down and write was the morning after I watched the vampy movie and decided to write "Trance" instead. My bad. o_O

In any case, please try to enjoy chapter 3 of Late Fee and leave me any thoughts or comments about this chapter once you've read it.

Thanks guys!

* * *

Chapter 3 - I Did Not Agree To That!!

* * *

It had been two nights. Shizuru, like a truly melancholic person, sighed heavily as she pulled the bolt across the shop's front door, clicking her tongue in frustration as she locked up for the night.

It was the third shift she had worked this week, and there had been no sign of her favourite customer. With a hint of panic, the uni student began to inwardly fret as she absently made her way back to the front till to help her co-worker Akira count up the night's takings.

_Perhaps I went to far with my teasing remarks... _she worried, stressing over the fact that Natsuki hadn't been in to see her after the embarassing exchange that occurred the last week, even though Shizuru was _sure _she was making progress with the girl after the establishment of the first name and all. She thought it was a step forward in the bonding process!

This brought on another startling thought. Since when had she actually cared enough about someone who was not even an aquaintance to the point of wallowing despairingly when they're not seen for a few days?

She chuckled sadly to herself. Maybe she _did _feel a little something for the beautiful customer, even though she had only just learnt her name. Gah, what was she, in primary school? She was way past the stage where you crush on the prettiest girl you see!

Although, try as she might, she couldn't deny the physical attraction she felt for Kuga-han. _Or should I say, Natsuki... _she thought dreamily to herself.

_Gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl..._

She chuckled sadly to herself again. Honestly, why did her hormones have to play up this way? She was still getting over the last time she had acted on her _"abnormal" _desires and kissed her schoolyard crush back in the catholic academy she attended in Kyoto.

Well, abnormal was the word that her headmistress Miss Maria had used when she sat Shizuru in the office next to her disappointed parents and proceeded to ramble on about Shizuru's "unhealthy preferences" and "sinful behaviour".

THAT particular incident had been a blow to her family's image amongst the upper-class social scene of Kyoto's wealthiest, as the news of Shizuru's actions spread like wildfire throughout the prestegious school and inevitably back to the parents.

Needless to say, it had been a unanimous decision by her parents to send her to Fuka to continue her schooling thereafter.

Lost in thought, the Kyoto-born girl stared distantly at the countertop while she tallied up the totals of the coins from the till. Akira, who had been discreetly watching her for the past few minutes, reached out and touched her wrist which effectively snapped Shizuru out of her memories.

"Shizuru-san... are you feeling alright? You're staring into space and chuckling to yourself..."

Shizuru blinked. She expertly hid her momentary embarassment with a gentle smile.

"Ara, Akira-han, it is fine. I was just... thinking, of something, that's all."

"Yeah, I can tell you're distracted."

"Mou, I'm not distracted at all. I can concentrate on more than one thing at a time, yes?"

"Uhh... but, Shizuru-san, for the past two minutes you've been re-counting the coins over and over again."

"Ah? I have?"

She looked down at the small treasure-pile of coins she had gathered up and realised that Akira was waiting for the total before she could settle up the rest of the takings. Shizuru hid her embarassment yet again.

"Ara ara, I am quite distracted indeed! Kanin na, Akira-han... I was in a world of my own..."

The next few minutes were silent as the money was packed away, the alarms were set, and the two girls headed out into the chill of the night air as they both walked to the carpark. Shizuru scanned the empty lot, seeing only her own vehicle.

"Ara, Akira-san, how are you getting home tonight? Would you like a lift?"

Akira shook her head as she pointed towards a set of headlights approaching from further down the street.

"No, thanks Shizuru-san. But my boyfriend is picking me up tonight, that should him right there" she spoke with the same monotonous tone she usually did. Shizuru turned and watched as the approaching car indeed did pull up next to them, and a young brunette boy climb out of the car breathlessly.

"I'm sorry Akira-kun! There was an accident down on the other street, and the ambulances were blocking off the roads while they attended to the scene..." he trailed off, bumbling apologetically as Akira reached out and poked him in the forehead.

"It's alright Takumi, Shizuru-san was with me and besides, you're not that late anyway."

"But, my sister asked me to drop these off for her."

The young boy revealed as Takumi reached back into the car and pulled out a few dvds, waving them in front of Akira as he smiled sheepishly. Akira rolled her eyes.

"Just put them in the returns bin!"

"But they're for Mai's friend and if they don't get scanned back in by tonight, there'll be a late fee on their account!."

"Well then you'll have to tell Mai's friend that they owe some money for being lazy with their returns" Akira deadpanned.

"But you don't know this girl, she's scary! Please Akira-kun, just open up the shop for a few more minutes and return these for me..."

"Gah, then I'll have to disable all the alarms and restart the computer all over again..."

By this point, Shizuru had zoned out. It was cold, it was getting late, and she had a class in the morning. She looked up from her watch, about to voice her farewells when something made her stop.

_That dvd he is holding..._

She tilted her head to the side as she regarded the cover. _Scream 2, and the store only ever keeps one copy of that movie..._

She barely registered Akira's annoyed sigh before the tomboy pulled the store key out of her pocket and made to turn back to the store. The movement kicked Shizuru into action.

"Wait, Akira-han!"

She lunged forward and grabbed the startled girl's wrist, the one holding the key. She smiled brightly at the girl as her grip tightened.

"No, this won't do, Akira-han. Can't you see that this person would be taking advantage of your poor boyfriend if you allow this to happen?!"

Akira just stared wide-eyed at the girl, before turning to look at her equally-stunned boyfriend. Shizuru continued to lay on the theatrics.

"I mean, how dare this person neglect to take back their dvds, but expect poor Takumi-han to go out of his way to ferry them all the way over here for, hm?"

Akira slowly came out of her startled state and nodded slowly.

"You're right... Takumi, I shouldn't have to open up the whole shop just because you're scared of your sister's friend."

Shizuru took the chance to gleefully interject with a "Using intimidation on you Takumi-han? That's the lowest!" laced with false seriousness.

Takumi looked bewildered at the mood-changing girl still holding tightly onto his girlfriend's wrist, then glanced over into the eyes of his irritated girlfriend, who seemed to be siding with the older girl.

"But Akira-kun.... Kuga-san is scary!"

Akira was about to scold Takumi for his cowardliness before Shizuru gave a "suprised" gasp and broke into the conversation.

"Kuga-han... sounds familiar... Ah! Kuga-han is a regular customer of ours... and she has the audacity to bully you into bringing these movies, Takumi-han? That's disgraceful! I have quite the mind to save you a trip and take these movies directly to Kuga-han herself and have a stern talk with her about the importance of returning her movies on time!".

She ended her speech looking expectantly at Takumi, one arm folded across her torso as she rested the other on the side of her chin. Both young teens were stunned and perplexed about how worked up Shizuru was over this. After a few moments of silence (mostly caused by disbelief and sheer speechlessness on Akira and Takumi's part) Takumi hesitantly held the dvds out to Shizuru, who cheerily smiled and accepted them.

"Well, if it saves Akira-kun from having to re-open the store and me from having to face Kuga-san... then sure, you can take them Shizuru-san."

Akira glanced suspiciously at the all-to-cheery girl who was standing next to Takumi's car as he reached in and pulled out the rest of Natsuki's dvds that were sitting on the front seat. She questioned warily,

"Err, Shizuru-san... do you even know where Kuga-san lives?"

"Unit 12, third floor of the Earl Star apartment block down by the south side of Fuuka." she replied casually, only noticing the shocked stares from both other people when Takumi faltered in handing her the last dvd. She quickly moved to explain herself.

"Oh! Ara, I just happen to remember the contact information that pops up on the screen everytime I serve Kuga-san at the counter" she laughed demurely, trying to sound casual about the lie. Really, she had been looking up Natsuki's information every night since the girl first stopped showing at the store. Somehow, she felt comforted by reading the girl's contact details and movie renting history. _Desperate, huh?_

Clearing her throat to break the awkward silence that ensued, Shizuru bowed politely to the young couple once she had possession of the small stack of dvds before bidding the two a good night. They wished her the same. Making her back to her car, Shizuru couldn't help but let a secret smile cross her face.

_Tomorrow after class, I'm going to pay you a little visit, my Natsuki-chan..._

**************************************************************

Kuga Natsuki stood in the kitchen of her small apartment as she zipped up the front of her black rider's suit, the skin-tight leathers hugging all of her curves in such a fashion that Natsuki had become used to the stares and occasional nosebleeds she caused whilst out and about in public.

Hey, it may make her look like a seductress from a porno film but it did it's job as a protective riding suit, right? So, as Natsuki's confident, uncaring personality went her opinion was along the lines of "Screw you public citizens, I'm wearing it anyway".

Standing up at her kitchen bench, the girl brushed back a stray lock of hair that had escaped the pony tail and downed the rest of her glass of orange juice.

Yes, having breakfast at 1 o'clock in the afternoon was a tad strange, but she had a tendency to oversleep and and it was rare for her to crawl out of bed before lunchtime. Mostly, this was due to her late nights of watching renting rented horror movies, engaging in movie marathons that would normally last well into the early morning hours until she either passed out on the couch itself or managed to drag her tired form into her bedroom.

Carefully placing her glass and plate on the sink, Natsuki stifled a yawn as she absently picked up her helmet from the front bench, making sure to turn off the kitchen light as she passed by and made her way to the front door. Spinning her keys around by the keychain on her finger, she checked her reflection one last time in the hallway mirror before she went to leave her apartment and yanked the front door open... only to yelp loudly and stumble backwards when the open door revealed a suprised Shizuru, who was standing right in front of the door with a hand raised as if she was about to press the doorbell.

Natsuki's shock had caused her to stumble backwards blindly for a few steps before she tripped over her own legs and fell backwards onto her butt, legs sprawled out before her as her helmet fell out of her arms and rolled down the hallway. Both girls stared at each other in stunned silence.

.... Natsuki was the first to break that silence.

"What the hell do YOU want?!" She screamed, trying to scramble to her feet after catching the other's girls gaze briefly glance down to her spread legs. Shizuru winced at the deafningly loud question Natsuki had thrown at her as her beautiful crush glared at her with hell's fury.

Although she was being shot the most dangerous look she had ever seen, Shizuru couldn't help but take a moment to reply as she regarded the cute pink colouring Natsuki's cheeks, and the way her eyes glittered in outrage at being startled so badly into falling over.

Now back at eye-level with the crazy movie store employee standing in her doorway, Natsuki folded her arms in what she felt was a menacing manner when in fact she looked even more cutely indignant.

Shizuru smiled serenely and held out the small stack of dvds she had tucked under one arm. Natsuki's expression changed into one of stunned curiosity as she dropped her gaze speechlessly to the dvds she had given to Takumi to return for her last night.

"Ara, Kuga-han failed to return these on time to make her week's rental limit, so I have taken it upon myself to graciously return these to you and collect your fee on behalf of the store!"

She finished this outrageous statement with a smile so bright that it actually took Natsuki a bit of effort to retort in a negative fashion.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU STUPID WOMAN?!"

Shortly after exploding, Natsuki felt bad. Like, really bad. She watched as Shizuru first jumped slightly at her yelling, then the happy expression in her eyes dim as the smile slowly disappeared from her face. Natsuki couldn't bear the sight of it, it was like looking at an abandoned puppy, for god's sake!

Natsuki's weakness for puppies was what made her hastily backtrack over her words.

"Uh, I mean..! Look, I didn't mean to shout at you like that, ok? It's just... well, I had my friend return them last night so I'm not sure why you are telling me that I owe the store money".

She spoke in a kinder tone, yet still kept the miffed expression on her face. Seriously, what kind of game was this woman playing at?! Showing up at a customer's residence like this over an alleged late return was absurd in itself!

Shizuru withdrew the stack of dvds to her chest as she inwardly composed herself. She'd admit, it was quite a blow to have the object of her affections scream in her face like that, but she consoled herself with the fact that it was indeed a bit strange to have turned up out of the blue like this, and she knew Natsuki was still a bit twitchy after the scare she got when she nearly walked right out of the door and smack into her.

She put up another smile - a bit softer, this time - and began to try and explain her actions.

"You have every right to be on the defensive Kuga-han, but I assure you - I did not mean to offend or scare you," She paused here, eying Natsuki wearily and upon seeing that the girl seemed to be accepting this, continued on.

"You are right in saying that you gave these movies to your friend Takumi-han to return, but he arrived too late last night so I offered to come by today and hand these back to you with the intention of asking whether you wanted to re-hire these for another week or just pay the late fee - either way, I am working tonight and am able to either take these back for you now along with the payment or hand them over to you for another week and you can just give me the re-hire fee now to take back with me".

Natsuki continued watching her coldly, with the same disinterested expression she usually used when in the store. Finally, after hearing Shizuru out, she spoke.

"Ok, in that case, I'll pay the stupid fee. However, I will pay it _in my own time _and probably send one of my friends down to the store to deliver the damn payment to you guys. But you still had no right to come around here and put me on the spot like this!"

Shizuru winced. Damn, how on earth was she supposed to explain that she only wanted to see Natsuki's gorgeous face again since she had been so absent from the shop, and that she had come all the way out here just to have a conversation with her? Well, that's exactly how she went about explaining it.

"Ara, do not get the impression that I have come here to try and hassle Kuga-han for money! It is simply because Kuga-han hasn't been in the store to visit me lately, and I missed seeing her beautiful face... you see, I offered to come by here and check that things were ok because you hadn't been in like you normally are and I was worried that something was wrong".

Natsuki's eye twitched as the older girl finished this statement with a sincere smile. So, she was _expected _to be in there every night, huh? Since when did she have to follow the schedule set by some stupid store employee who hit on her non-stop and had the audacity to come around to her house when she doesn't follow aforementioned schedule?!

_That_ was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"You want to know WHY I haven't been back, huh? Well it's because everytime I go in there, you start your creepy flirting with me and I HATE IT! I can't even rent movies out without you making some kind of suggestive remark to me, but when I try to avoid you follow me to my damn apartment! YOU are the reason I haven't been back, okay?!"

Her voice rose in decibels throughout this little speech until by the end she was once again yelling in the other girl's face. And hey, what does it matter if the _real _reason she hadn't been back to the shop was because her bike had only been fixed as of this morning, and she was on her way to pick it up now? As far as she was concerned, if lying to the tawny-haired girl like this was gonna get her to back off her case like that then she saw no problem with lying through her teeth.

Although once again, her guilty conscience kicked her in the guts as she saw the expression on the other girl's face.

Struggling to keep her neutral expression from slipping, Shizuru's garnet eyes dropped to the floor and her whole demeanour seemed to dim somewhat.

"Oh" was all she was able to mutter softly as she shifted the stack of dvds in her arms. Feeling confident enough that she was able to look at Natsuki again without crying, she plastered on an apologetic smile before looking up and uttering,

"Kanin na, Kuga-han. I didn't know that my actions caused you such distress. I am terribly sorry to bother you like this... I'll just take these back, and you don't have to worry about that fee. I'll take care of it".

With one last struggled smile, she turned from the doorway and was about to start walking down the corridor. With her back now turned to Natsuki, Shizuru let a secret little smirk form on her lips. Her acting truly was superb, and she had her highschool drama club to thank for that.

_Three, two, one..._

A quiet mumble caught her attention. Quickly dropping the smug grin that she had let out after hearing Natsuki's guilt set in, she turned her head back and looked questionably at the slightly blushing girl who had dropped her arms from their folded pose and was nervously tapping her fingers against her leather-covered thigh.

"Ara? Excuse me?"

"I said _'It's Natsuki'_ " she repeated, slightly louder. Shizuru was at a loss for a split second before she connected the girl's words to the ones she had spoken to her the last time they interacted at Legend.

"Ah, I see. Well then, _Natsuki_, I'll see you la... well, perhaps not. Goodbye, then".

She once again made to leave but the husky feminine voice softly stopped her yet again.

"You... you don't have to settle that fee for me, you know. I don't really mind paying it".

"Ara, it's fine Natsuki. I feel awful for putting you in such an uncomfortable position thanks to my thoughtless teasing, so I feel more than obliged to pay this for you..."

"No, seriously. I feel worse for what I said just now... and to be honest, the flirting didn't really bother me so much. My bike was being repaired for the past few days, so I haven't had a chance to make it down the store. I've been reduced to riding a bicycle back and forth to places while my Ducati is out, and the video store is too far away to ride."

Shizuru curiously watched the fidgeting girl who was blushing slightly, avoiding eye contact as though it was the hardest thing in the world to admit that she felt bad for snapping at the older girl. Shizuru didn't really care though, she was still dwelling over the part of the conversation where Natsuki admitted that it wasn't the flirting that kept her away from the store, but rather an issue with her transportation.

Shizuru inwardly cheered. Emotional manipulation _did _come in handy sometimes after all; The ever-perceptive Shizuru now had a slight crack in Natsuki's defenses to work on - her guilt. And being the oppurtunist that she was, she was going to take the chance to subtly get even closer to the aloof customer of hers.

"Oh, don't worry yourself over that," she spoke, waving her hand as though she were dismissing Natsuki's concern,

"I can understand if my teasing makes you uncomfortable, I know that I can sometimes get out of hand."

"No, not at all! You're teasing is ok, it's just a bit unexpected is all... I mean, you being a girl and me being a girl..."

"Ara! So Natsuki is homophobic?!"

"What? NO! I - I don't judge people on that ki -"

"Oh, Natsuki, I'm ever so dreadfully sorry. I didn't realise that you were a homophobic... no wonder you were so opposed to my teasing. In that case, I'll understand if you don't want me to serve you at the store anymore..."

Natsuki was flustered and panicking. Completely forgetting about being angry earlier, Natsuki was terrified that she had just offended this girl on the grounds of her lifestyle choice. Betraying her cool persona, Natsuki's unconcious concern for hurting people's feelings was overriding her logic. And it kept her from realising that she was like a little rabbit being led with a carrot right into a trap.

Shizuru's eyes flashed with the knowledge of her impending victory. If she continued to stir Natsuki up like this, she was certain that the girl would unwittingly use her own words against herself._ Just a little more push..._

"Listen... ehh, ma'am..."

"It's Shizuru, but feel free to call me "gay girl" in a derogatory manner if you'd rather not adress me like a person..."

"OI!! I am not like that! I am so totally fine with relationship fluidity, I mean I could even prove it easily so you have to believe me -"

"Natsuki does not have to lie for my sake," Shizuru said, tilting her head sorrowfully but inwardly jumping with glee.

_She's mine..._

"G-Gah! Trust me, I am so fine with two girls being together that I'll even take you down to dinner at a public place to _prove _that I am, in no way, _HOMOPHOBIC!"_

_Gotcha, _Shizuru smugly

She ended this sentence out of breath, red faced and staring at Shizuru with such determination that Shizuru couldn't even hope to hold up the miserable facade as she visibly brightened and grinned widely.

"Ara..? You will? Natsuki is very kind, I must say."

After a moment of stock-still confusion, Natsuki's mind flooded with coprehension as she recalled the last thing she had blurted out to Shizuru out of fear that the older would burst into tears. Hurriedly, she tried to back-track over her words.

"Wait, about what I said before about the dinner, I -"

"Will pick me up from Legend at 7 tomorrow night?" Shizuru finished for her, her eyes glimering with so much undisguised happiness that Natsuki gave up then and there at any attempt to shake off the event she accidentally conned herself into. She sighed, not bothering to hide her exasperation from Shizuru as she used her fingertips to flick back her bangs and raised her eyes to ceiling to avoid eye contact with Shizuru.

"Yeah, look whatever... but this is going to be a one-off occasion, and only because I made the damn mistake of getting myself stuck into this. Shizuru opened her mouth, about to mention something regarding homophobia once again when Natsuki quickly interjected before her.

"And it's only to prove that I'm not homophobic! I can't have my reputation ruined by some crazy rumour that I'm a pig-headed discriminator."

With that, she lowered her eyes back to Shizuru, the intense worry that was there when she thought she had upset Shizuru had completely vanished now leaving two cool emerald eyes staring at her neutrally.

"Well then, it's settled. Have anywhere in mind that you're going to take me, Natsuki-chan?"

The cool emeralds turned even icier as they narrowed upon Shizuru.

"No -chan. I told you, it's Natsuki, and nothing more informal than that."

Shizuru waited for her to reply about the location she had originally asked, but realising that Natsuki had sunk back into her usual cold, disinterested mood made her begrudgingly admit to herself that further discussion on the topic was a moot point. Oh well. At least she had her dinner date with the irrestible girl, regardless of the fact that Natsuki was uncaring of the occasion and was only interested in proving a point.

After a moment of regarding each other, Natsuki finally turned around to pick up her helmet from the hallway and stepped past Shizuru so she could shut the door behind herself.

"Look, I have somewhere to be. Like you said, I'll pick you up tomorrow night since you finish early."

Shizuru nodded, then remembered that she was cradling a small stack of dvds to her chest.

"Oh, what about these?"

Outstretching her arms, Shizuru held the stack of dvds before Natsuki. The girl stared at them for a few seconds before a tiny smile tugged at her lips.

"Ah, why thank you. Here, help me strap those to my back so I can carry them as I ride."

It took a few split-seconds for Shizuru to register the sarcasm. _Oh, right. She's on a bike._ That thought tugged a smile at her own lips.

"Ara, I'm sure you'll look absolutely dashing in that form-fitting leather suit with the motorcycle helmet."

Natsuki blushed a furious shade of red.

"No, I'm picking my Ducati up today and will be riding it home! That's why I'm dressed in my motorcycle gear, idiot. I don't normally wear this when I get around!"

"Yes, I can imagine it would look quite strange to see a young girl pedal past the traffic lights pimped out in her biking leathers."

Both girls imagined the absurd image at the same time following Shizuru's statement and they both giggled. The glow in her eyes from the humour and the slight flush in her cheeks made Natsuki look 10x more adorable to Shizuru as she composed herself and reached out to gently push the dvds back into Shizuru.

"You take them back for me. I'll sort out the fee when I see you tomorrow, ne?"

And with a tiny smile, Natsuki brushed past Shizuru and disappeared round the corner of the hallway. After a few moments of joyful reflection on Natsuki's agreement to a "date", Shizuru turned on her heel and blissfully made her way down the corridor also.

* * *

Next time:

Shizuru goes to work gushing over her date with Natsuki later that evening while a less-than-supportive Tomoe begins to get jealous of Shizuru's obvious infatuation. Later on Natsuki takes Shizuru out to a meal like they agreed, but does Shizuru have it in her to win Natsuki over by the end of the night and secure another date? Or will she have to resort to her mind games and manipulate Natsuki into seeing her again?

A/N: Too rushed? To OOC? Please send some comments or suggestions for improvement, as I'm always looking to improve my writing style :)


	4. Awkward Silences Suck

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Mai HiME. (Damnit.)

* * *

A/N: Yes, long time. Well I'm on holidays for a little while now so I've had time to get a lot of writing done. I'm so sorry about this delay!  


* * *

Chapter 4: Awkward Silences Suck

* * *

By the time 6pm had rolled around, Shizuru could've sworn her insides had turned into snakes and were wriggling around inside of her. Well, it felt that way at least. The nerves were settling in deeper as each slow minute ticked over to the next and she was finding it hard to focus on her work when it came to assisting and serving the customers. During the long periods between customers, Shizuru was also guilty of zoning out while her attractive jailbait co-worker, Tomoe, was trying to engage her in conversation (which was basically a lengthy monologue anyway, to Shizuru's defence.)

"... and thinking about it now, don't you think I should have fired him? Shizuru-san?"

Turning around at the absence of a reply, Tomoe found the object of her affections bent over the counter and checking her reflection in the metallic strip along the edge of the cash register. She watched for a few more moments as Shizuru used her fingers to comb through her fringe and the tip of her pinky finger to touch up her lip gloss. The younger girl let out a sigh.

"Shizuru-san, were you even listening to me?"

Turning around, Shizuru shot her companion a sheepish smile and clapped her hands together, bowing apologetically. She made sure to bend forward just enough to tease Tomoe with a glimpse of her cleavage, which would hopefully soften the sting of her rudeness. Really, she hadn't meant to ignore the poor girl but her mind was so preoccupied with thoughts of her upcoming dinner date with a most beautiful woman...

"Oh, Marguerite-san, kannin na! I am awfully sorry, unfortunately my mind was stolen away by other things..."

She rose from the bow just in time to catch Tomoe's eyes flick away from the tantalising view Shizuru had provided her, and back up to meet her smiling gaze. Earlier disappointment quickly forgotten, Tomoe launched into her query.

"Oh, that's okay Shizuru-san! I was only talking about an idiot down at father's firm anyway... But if you don't mind me asking, just what exactly is happening tonight for you to be constantly checking your appearance?"

The trace of suspicious curiosity wasn't hidden well enough for the ever-perceptive Shizuru to miss, and it made the university student wince inwardly. _Ah, would it be wise to tell her that I have a date?_

"I'm meeting up with a friend for dinner."

Tomoe scowled, despite her attempts to appear only politely interested. She couldn't help but voice her displeasure.

"Oh, a date then."

Shizuru chuckled.

"Ara, such an accusing tone... you make it sound as though you wish I weren't going out, Marguerite-san."

The younger girl flinched.

"I - Eh, well.." She cleared her throat a little, daintily raising her hand to her mouth as she did so.

"I have to admit, the thought of you stuck in the company of some boring _man_ for the rest of the night plagues me just a little."

Shizuru chuckled some more at the way the girl ground out the word 'man' so distastefully. She had no idea why Tomoe was so opposed to men, but it amused her to no end. In fact, had she not been so set on having Natsuki, Shizuru secretly thought to herself that perhaps she would've enjoyed a brief fling with Tomoe.... but then she'd shake her head and remind herself that, although tempting, Tomoe was still a minor. Shizuru had standards, after all.

Deciding it would be best not to correct her, Shizuru broke away from the conversation to glance up at the clock - 6:45 - and back down at her work shirt. She sighed ruefully and plucked at the red fabric with her fingertips.

"Marguerite-san, is it okay to ask a favour of you?"

Looking eager, Tomoe nodded.

"You see, I am leaving here at exactly 7pm and I won't have time to change into my proper outfit... would Marguerite-san mind if I were to get changed now and she keep it a secret from our boss for me?"

Smiling sweetly, Shizuru inwardly cursed when she saw the hesitation flicker in Tomoe's eyes. _Sigh_. She knew it was a strict rule of Yukariko's to remain in uniform during your shifts, but surely nothing could go wrong in the last 15 minutes..?

Plotting in her mind, Shizuru smirked as she came to the resolution that she'd just have to manipulate Tomoe the same way she always does - which was borderline seduction.

"Ara, _Tomoe_, there is merely 15 minutes left until I finish. And I trust you to keep this secret for me. Although, I will you need you to keep an eye out for customers whilst I change behind the counter..."

Tomoe's eyes clouded over and Shizuru knew she'd assured victory. Tomoe felt slightly light-headed - the combination of Shizuru addressing her in such an intimate way (without honorifics~!) and the fact that her extremely attractive co-worker was planning to undress right here, just 3 feet away from her!

"H-hai, Shizuru-san. The store's empty at the moment, so use your opportunity now to change."

Proud at her ability to win the younger girl over so easily, Shizuru ducked down behind the counter and retrieved her bag from beneath the counter. Pulling out a gently-folded short dress, Shizuru knelt down and proceeded to remove her work shirt.

Utterly transfixed, Tomoe was unable to focus on anything else around her other than the smooth, milky flesh that was being revealed to her with each passing second. Her peripheral vision all but disappeared as her eyesight honed in on the white lace bra, very simply but oh so _freaking sexy._

Revelling in the strong, tingly feelings coursing through her system and unable to hear anything due to the blood pumping erratically through her heart and temples, Tomoe nearly jumped out of her skin when a damp cloth landed right next to her arm that was leaning on the counter. Tearing her eyes away from the wet dream material in front of her, Tomoe glanced nervously at Yukariko, who had entered the store and now stalked briskly over to one of the shelves and was straightening up DVDs.

"Come on, girls... you need to constantly be checking these shelves, you know how the little kids are when they just tear through the selections..."

Panicking, Tomoe locked eyes with Shizuru, who had frozen fearfully when Yukariko's voice was heard. She was in an awkward position - Sprawled out on her knees, button-up dress over one arm and hanging off of the opposite shoulder. The button of her jeans was undone and a hint of white lace underwear was peeking out. Whichever way you looked at it, she would be screwed if Yukariko saw her. Heartbeat pounding, Shizuru mouthed a set of instructions to Tomoe.

_"Stall her."_

"Tomoe, use that cloth I tossed you to wipe over the counter, please. And where on earth is Shizuru-san?"

"Eh- bathroom!" the green-haired girl stuttered.

She snatched up the cloth and began to wipe over the countertop, clearing her throat a little and reaffirming her excuse.

"Y-yes, Shizuru-san went to the bathroom."

Yukariko just nodded and, upon finishing the straightening of the shelves, began to approach the counter. Nervously, Tomoe dared not glance at Shizuru and instead reached out with her foot and discreetly nudged her, hoping that she'd get the message and move the hell out of view!

Below the counter, Shizuru understood Tomoe's sign but glanced around fearfully - there was no where to go! Instead, she furiously scrambled to get the half-dressed top off of her, and reached around for her work shirt which was lying on the floor a few feet away from her.

Yukariko was near the counter now, and with a jolt of fear for Shizuru, Tomoe blurted out the stupidest stalling method in history.

"Look over there!"

Blinking, Yukariko turned around and glanced to the back of the store.

"What? What is it?"

Tomoe didn't answer - instead, she had dropped into a crouch and faced Shizuru, who had already managed to get her head and arms back into the shirt. Grasping the hem, Tomoe yanked the shirt down until it covered Shizuru's form completely. Standing back up abruptly just in time for Yukariko to turn back around, Tomoe flashed a bright smile at her.

"Er, I thought I saw a mouse... it seems to be gone now."

After a few seconds of staring uncertainly at her employee, Yukariko just shook her head exasperatedly and stepped behind the counter... and nearly stepped right on Shizuru's hand, who was kneeling beneath the counter rummaging through the cleaning products stored in a cupboard down there.

"Oh! Sorry, Shizuru-san. I didn't even realise you were back from the bathroom yet."

Shizuru casually accepted the apology and withdrew a bottle of cleaning spray, standing up and smiling.

"It's alright, Yukariko-san, I was just going to do a little bit of cleaning before I finish shift. I leave early tonight, in a few minutes, to be exact."

Yukariko smiled, then nodded in Tomoe's direction.

"You see, Tomoe? You need to be as motivated as Shizuru-san here is. She's a perfect employee - I think I'll start putting you two on more shifts together, she's a good influence on you."

Tomoe, during the course of that sentence, went from being indignant at the semi-insult to elated at the prospect of spending more time with Shizuru. As she stepped past the two women to walk out to the storefront, Shizuru sighed in relief and allowed her racing heartbeat to clam down.

_Ara, that was close...  
_

* * *

It was now 6:59, and Shizuru was gathering up her things to leave. Standing up with her bag over her shoulder, Shizuru bid goodbye to Tomoe and Yukariko as she walked towards the exit.

"Shizuru-san, wait!"

Turning around at the girl's call, Shizuru blinked as Tomoe handed her the folded up dress that was supposed to change into.

"Uh, you left this under the counter."

Thanking her, Shizuru smiled cheerfully and reached out to take the dress. Tomoe purposely slid her hand against Shizuru's as they both reached out, prolonging the action and causing Shizuru to frown inwardly when she saw the smokey look in her co-worker's eyes.

"... Have fun, Shizuru-san. Don't let your male friend bore you too much."

Forcing herself to grin, Shizuru nodded wearily and turned back around, walking out the front door and thinking about the expression in Tomoe's eyes as their hands touched earlier. _Ah, perhaps it was a bad idea to string her along so much today... she was looking at me like she was in love with me..._

Shaking off the uncomfortable thoughts, Shizuru stepped out into the dusky evening, raising one hand to block the initial assault of dying sunlight as her eyes immediately searched the car park for any sign of her date.

_Ara, not here yet it seems..._

Waiting for a few moments, Shizuru was halfway through checking her messages on her phone when the roar of an engine alerted her to the presence of a motorcycle in the distance that drove up and slowed to a stop in front of her. Shizuru stood speechless for a moment as her eyes greedily trailed over the body sitting astride the vehicle.

Long, slim legs were covered by tight jeans and a white button-up dress shirt clung to the smooth dips and contours of the girl's torso - an open collar that showed a hint of collarbone and offered just the barest glimpse of a shadowy cleavage. Long, dark locks were visible from underneath the helmet, but the gorgeous face was currently hidden from view beneath a dark visor as the biker reached behind herself and withdrew a second helmet, offering it to Shizuru.

Still too spellbound, Shizuru absent mindedly took the helmet from Natsuki's grasp as she continued admiring the outfit her crush wore. She almost forgot how to breathe when a gloved hand reached up and flicked up the visor on her helmet, revealing piercing green eyes staring directly at Shizuru.

Shizuru didn't have time to lose herself in the possible romance of the moment however, as she realised with a start that Natsuki was actually staring at her weirdly; one thin eyebrow quirked as she regarded the store attendant before her.

"Uhh... are you really going to be wearing that? Coz this place we're going does have a dress code..."

Glancing down at herself, Shizuru caught sight of the now-crumpled red polo shirt that had been haphazardly thrown on during the panic a few minutes ago, and the faded jeans that ended in a pair of worn, white sneakers. Blushing slightly, Shizuru smiled sheepishly as she looked back up at Natsuki.

"Ara, yes, I do need to change when we arrive at our destination... I did bring a spare change of clothes. And shoes."

Nodding, Natsuki once again flicked her visor down and shuffled forward on the bike, leaving Shizuru to sit her helmet over her head and awkwardly climb onto the back of the bike. Lightly grasping Natsuki's hips, Shizuru stiffened up straight and prepared herself for the ride - she had never been on a motorcycle before.

She was a bit curious as to why Natsuki had not started moving yet, but before she could voice any questions the biker had reached behind her and took Shizuru's wrists, guiding them around her middle and pulling the girl tight against her back.

Over the sound of the engine, a euphoric Shizuru could just make out Natsuki's words.

"You need to hold on tighter - if you don't, you'll slip off as soon as we turn a corner. Got it?"

Shizuru nodded against the girl's shoulder blades, too dazed to form any words as she felt the warmth radiating from the strong body in front of her and felt her arms locked in an embrace around it. As a safety necessity or not, Shizuru was content to think of the situation as a bear hug.

Revving the engine, Natsuki placed her feet back onto the pegs and gently guided the bike away from the sidewalk and back into traffic, laughing behind her helmet when she felt Shizuru's fingertips dig into her belly as the frightened girl clung on for dear life.

* * *

Shizuru glanced up at the sign perched above the front entrance as they dismounted from their bike. _Carnivà__le...? Strange name for a restaurant..._

"So, I'll head inside and get our table while you get changed... or something?"

Shizuru turned to the beauty beside her, who looked rather impatient as they stood outside in the car park. Then again, since Shizuru first laid eyes on the girl, she had looked impatient 95 percent of the time. Shizuru herself, on the other hand, was bubbling with giddy glee that she kept well restrained behind her calmly smiling facade.

"Ara, I do believe that sounds like an ideal course of action."

Nodding, Natsuki moved to begin walking towards the front door, only to find an extra weight attached to her as Shizuru latched onto her arm.

"H-hey! Get off me!"

Trying to shake off the other girl, Natsuki reached up with her free hand and tried to pry her arm out of Shizuru's clutches, who by this point had successfully managed to nestle the limb snugly into her cleavage. Balking, Natsuki flailed her free arm around.

"What the hell are you doing?! Release my arm right now!"

Laughing at the flustered girl, Shizuru hugged her now-captive arm even tighter, for extra measure even daring to lean her head on Natsuki's arm.

"Araaa, this is a date is it not? It's customary for the girl to walk arm-in-arm with her date."

"The _girl_? Then what the hell am I, the guy?!"

"Mou, Natsuki always has to draw heterosexual parallels with everything... she really is very close-minded.."

"What?! I just - wait.... Gah!"

Throwing her free arm into the air in exasperation, Natsuki just groaned and shook her head, giving up on the argument and continuing towards the entrance with Shizuru practically glued to her side.

* * *

"Table for 'Kuga'."

"..... I see. Thank you. I shall guide you to your seat now. Would you like to wait for your partner before I bring over the menus?"

Natsuki, currently leaning against the wait stand, rubbed her temples and shook her head.

"Nah, Miyu... don't worry about the menus. I organised everything with Mai beforehand, she's got it all covered... Say, could you let Mai know I'm here when you go back into the kitchen?"

The grey-haired young waitress nodded dully, bowing stiffly at Natsuki as she headed towards the biker's designated table. Once Natsuki was sitting in her seat, the unemotional Miyu turned and walked off towards the kitchens. Sitting back in her chair, Natsuki let out a sigh as she thought of the long night she had ahead of her.

_Now, you've only got to entertain her for a few hours and then you're free of her... _She thought to herself, idly playing with the end of one of her long tresses that draped over her shoulder.

It wasn't that Natsuki was cold-hearted, but she just _couldn't afford _to get closer to anyone, especially not right now. It was bad enough that Mai and her few other friends were beginning to ask questions, and Natsuki really didn't need a perceptive annoyance like the Legend worker hanging around either...

At that moment, she looked up to see Shizuru walking towards her, dress fluttering around her mid-thigh and plunging neckline revealing a silver necklace that was nowhere near as sparkling as her eyes. Natsuki bit back a sigh.

_... Even if she __**is**__ beautiful._

Swallowing deeply, Natsuki reached up with her foot underneath the table and kicked Shizuru's chair outwards, effectively pulling it out for her without having to get up. Shizuru chuckled at the moody action as she sat down, placing her bag down beside her chair.

"Ara ara, very innovative gentleman." she teased, trying to gently rile the girl up who was currently leaning back in her chair, gaze fixed solidly at a spot on the table before her, arms folded. She didn't reply. For a few minutes they remained this way, untalking and barely moving.

Shizuru regarded the grouchy biker with an amused smile - while it seemed that Natsuki was nonchalantly ignoring her, Shizuru could see with each passing minute that the girl's cheeks were getting redder and redder, and that she was affected by the awkward silence.

Finally deciding to spare the girl her torture, Shizuru released a burst of breath as she looked around for a waitress, her sound breaking the silence and causing Natsuki to glance up at her.

"Say, where are our menus? Have you not been served while I was absent, Natsuki?"

Unfolding her arms, Natsuki sat up a bit higher in her chair and glanced over to the kitchens.

"Um... well, I know the chef here and she was supposed to come out here and serve us personally, but..." trailing off into a mumble, Natsuki peered at the tawny-haired girl curiously when she released a chuckle.

"Ara, what a nice surprise for our date. I'm glad you went out of your way to organise it."

Natsuki just cleared her throat and nodded, avoiding eye contact with the other girl as her ears turned red. _Cute, _Shizuru thought endearingly. _I really hope she'll agree to a second date after tonight... Ara, it seems I am more infatuated then I first realised..._

Natsuki seemed to relax as a buxom young woman with fiery-coloured hair approached their table.

"Hey Natsuki! And hello, Natsuki's date!"

Shizuru smiled at the girl who looked close to her own age, sporting a flour-covered apron and currently wiping her hands on a tea towel that she held.

"How pleasant to meet you, my name is Fujino Shizuru."

Grinning, the chef reached out with a now-clean hand to grasp Shizuru's in a friendly shake. Her cheerful demeanour was nearly infectious.

"Nice to meet you too, Fujino-san. I'm Tokiha Mai, the head chef here. Wow, it's so great that Natsuki's finally on a date!"

Sputtering, the girl in question shot a glare at her giggling friend.

"Shut up Mai! Just because you're off gallivanting with that Tate idiot every 5 minutes doesn't mean everyone needs to scramble around for a date!"

"Natsuki! Be more polite! It's pretty darn rare that anyone is even brave enough to approach you so you better not go scaring off your chance for a loving relationship!"

Shizuru laughed, amused, watching the back and forth banter between the two. It was obvious that they were quite close friends. Eventually deciding to cut short their little fight, by which point Mai was childishly poking her tongue out at Natsuki and the icy beauty herself was halfway out of her seat and growling, Shizuru spoke up again.

"So, Tokiha-san, my co-worker's boyfriend mentioned he had a sister who was friends with Natsuki... are you Tokiha Takumi's sibling, perhaps?"

Mai flicked the tea towel to rest over her shoulder as she placed both hands on her hips.

"Hey, you work with Akira-chan? Yeah, Takumi's my little brother alright... In fact, he's working in there right now."

She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the kitchens.

"Little guy's the best pastry chef this side of town, hahaha. So, Natsuki never told me you work at the video store."

Shizuru leaned back in her seat, currently in her most comfortable element - Polite conversation.

"Ara, well I am studying law at Fuka University for the time being, as I'm aiming for an LL.D. and I pick up a few shifts a week at Legend to cover my personal expenses."

Natsuki and Mai both gaped at her. The former was first to actually speak.

"Fuka U...? You must be loaded to afford that place..."

Shizuru felt a little jolt of pride at the measure of awe she could hear in her date's tone. Frowning at Natsuki, the well-endowed chef reached out and smacked her friend on the back of the head.

"Ow! Frick!"

"Natsuki! I can't believe you don't already know these things about your partner!"

"Damnit Mai, this is our first date! Back off already!"

After a few moments, interrupted constantly by the two friend's tendency to argue over everything, their food was ordered and Mai returned to her kitchen, winking at the both of them and parting with a cheeky "Enjoy yourselves!" as she returned to her station. Now both alone, Shizuru was dismayed to find that she was once again left with a scowling statue.

Sighing, Shizuru tried to think of a topic that the two of them could discuss. Really, unless she got Natsuki to open up more before the end of the night, there was practically zero chance of securing a second date. Looking at Natsuki's bored and disinterested expression, Shizuru felt a twinge stab at her heart as she began rapidly losing confidence.

_Oh, what am I doing... it's obvious she's not interested in me in the slightest. The only reason she's here in the first place is because I tricked her into it, there's no way she'll want to see me after this. It's like she just wants to hurry up and get this over with..._

Feeling the uncomfortable sensation of tears welling up from the back of her eyes, Shizuru blinked a few times to push the annoying feeling away and focused her gaze on her silver bracelet.

_Wow, real tears for once... Ara, aren't they rare. Normally most girls are throwing themselves at me just to get my attention, but the only one I actually want won't even look at me... Ah, the irony._

As Shizuru sat self-wallowing, Natsuki fought against every muscle in her body to not look up at the girl opposite her.

_Don't be stupid, Natsuki... you'll look like a weirdo if you stare at her!_

Part of her mind argued that it was Shizuru's own fault for wearing such provocative clothing - her body was just screaming to be leered at! Luckily for Natsuki, focus and control were something she was able to pull off flawlessly... Well, they had been, until she met Shizuru.

The weird shop assistant kept managing to throw her concentration off and send her into a flustered mess with her damned teasing, every time she entered the bloody store. And now, somehow, the same girl had managed to get her dressed up and sitting down, awaiting a romantic dinner. What the hell?! The girl was definitely skilled, that's for sure...

Fingertips grasping the butter knife that was laid out neatly on the table, Natsuki began to fidget with it while they waited in awkward silence for their food. Secretly, Natsuki tilted the cutlery to an angle until she found a clear reflection of Shizuru.

_Man, she's really gorgeous... I feel kinda bad for having to keep her at arm's length like this. Sure, she's an insufferable nut, but Mai's right... where am I gonna find a catch like this again? A beautiful, intelligent, rich catch?! Argh, what a shame that she is pursuing me so much... I just... Sorry, I really can't let you get close to me, Shizuru... It's dangerous..._

Unaware of the attractive rebel spying on her through the silver reflection, Shizuru drew in a shaky breath and taped her fingers along the white tablecloth. _Ok, so as soon as we've eaten I'll get her to drop me off home and I won't bother her again... I'm obviously a burden..._

Both women, deep in their own thoughts about the other, were startled when a loud voice called out in their direction.

"Oi! If it isn't Kuga, on a _**date **_of all things...?!"

Shizuru snapped her eyes away from the approaching girl with vivd red hair when she heard a low growl escape Natsuki's throat. Turning to look at her date, she saw a pissed off expression darkening Natsuki's eyes as she glared at the newcomer.

"What the hell do you want, Nao?"

"Hey, no need for that kind of tone mutt. The little brat's sent me here to pick up Miyu once she's knocked off work."

Snaring a chair from a nearby unoccupied table, Nao swung it around to their table and sat down backwards in it, folding her arms over the backrest in front of her and leaning her chin on them. She swerved unnerving jade eyes to meet Shizuru's crimson ones for a split second, before moving them to roam all over Shizuru's form briefly and then turning back to meet Natsuki's.

"So, there's no way in hell you could've gotten this on your own," glancing back at Shizuru, the girl known as Nao smirked.

"How much did she pay you for your company?"

Shizuru was stunned for the slightest second. A multitude of feelings were colliding inside her at once. Offense, annoyance, and indignation to name a few. Was this girl implying that she was an escort...?!

Or was she simply insulting Natsuki? Either way before Shizuru could open her mouth and correct the girl, tell her that the date was of her own will, that Natsuki actually wanted nothing to do with her and she'd forced the biker into dinner, Natsuki's next set of actions silenced her.

Reaching across the table, Natsuki grabbed Shizuru's hands and held them in her own, scowling at Nao as she pulled a stunned Shizuru's hands towards her and kissed them. Not letting go of the hands, Natsuki shot Nao an irritated look.

"For your information, Yuuki, this is my beloved girlfriend Shizuru and I'd be thankful if you stopped intruding on our intimate date, thank you very much."

Shizuru just nodded blankly in support of Natsuki's words, barely registering what was happening around her as those words kept echoing in her mind and her hands remained encased in Natsuki's warm soft ones.

_A-ara..._

* * *

Next Time:

So Shizuru is Natsuki's beloved girlfriend? What the heck is going on?! Shizuru doesn't care, because all of a sudden Natsuki is all over her and seemingly head over heels for her. But just who is this Nao girl? And she's a friend of _Tomoe's_?!

* * *

A/N: Hopefully there's enough stuff in this chapter as an apology *bows to readers*

Please review!


End file.
